[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 15, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 34758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11826]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7924-6]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of Upcoming 
Meeting of the Science Advisory Board, Homeland Security Advisory 
Committee (HSAC)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a 
public meeting of the Homeland Security Advisory Committee (HSAC).

DATES: July 15, 2005. The Committee will hold a public face-to-face 
meeting on July 15, 2005 from 8:30 a.m.to 4 p.m. (EST).

ADDRESSES: The meeting of the Committee will be held at the SAB 
Conference Center located at the Woodies Building, 1025 F St. NW., Room 
3705, Washington, DC, 20004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain more information regarding this meeting may contact Dr. Heidi 
Bethel, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office (1400F), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone/voice mail: (202) 343-9975; Fax (202) 
233-0643 or via e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The Agency's overall mission with respect to homeland 
security is the protection of the nation against the environmental and 
health consequences of acts of terrorism. Five Mission Critical Areas 
(MCAs) are described in the U.S. EPA's 2004 Homeland Security Strategy 
(http://www.epa.gov/homelandsecurity/htm/ohs-sp.htm). EPA's roles 
within the MCAs include protection of critical infrastructure including 
water and wastewater industries; aiding other federal agencies in the 
protection of the chemical, food, transportation, and energy sectors; 
responding and recovering from any chemical, biological, radiological, 
or nuclear terrorist events; providing environmental expertise to 
support federal law enforcement activities; improving compliance 
monitoring and surveillance of imports in U.S. ports of entry; and 
synthesizing and communicating complex information related to human 
health and the environment. Additionally, EPA is committed to 
protecting its own personnel and infrastructure and conducting internal 
evaluations of the Agency's homeland security activities to determine 
if objectives are achieved.
    Because of the cross-disciplinary nature of homeland security 
issues, multiple EPA offices are involved and their efforts are 
coordinated by the Administrator's Office of Homeland Security (OHS) 
(http://www.epa.gov/homelandsecurity/index.htm). Homeland security 
research at EPA is conducted by the Office of Research and 
Development's National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) 
(http://www.epa.gov/nhsrc/). Research is conducted by the Agency in the 
following three areas: building cleanup through detection, containment, 
decontamination and disposal of terrorist agents and building 
materials; threat and consequence assessment, which involves the 
development of information systems and tools, risk estimates, and risk 
communication; and water infrastructure protection with an emphasis on 
water supply, treatment, and distribution infrastructures.
    In response to a request from the Agency, the SAB has formed a 
subcommittee of the Chartered SAB to provide independent scientific and 
technical advice on matters pertaining to EPA's mission in protecting 
against the environmental and health consequences of terrorism. 
Background on this SAB Committee and its charge was provided in a 
Federal Register (FR) Notice published on July 30, 2003 (68 FR 44761-
44762).
    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, 
Notice is hereby given that the SAB HSAC, a subcommittee of the 
Chartered SAB, will hold a public face-to-face meeting. The Committee 
will receive briefings from EPA offices regarding the Agency's role in 
homeland security and the scope of their research and program 
activities. EPA's technical contact is Ms. Lee Ann Byrd, EPA Office of 
Homeland Security (1109A), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Washington, DC 
20460; telephone/voice mail: (202) 564-0675/6978; or via e-mail at 
[email protected].
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The meeting agenda and meeting 
materials will be posted on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/science1/agendas.htm prior to the meeting.
    Procedures for Providing Public Comment: It is the policy of the 
EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office to accept written public 
comments of any length, and to accommodate oral public comments 
whenever possible. Oral Comments: Requests to provide oral comments 
must be in writing (e-mail, fax or mail) and received by Dr. Bethel no 
later than five business days prior to the meeting in order to reserve 
time on the meeting agenda. For face-to-face meetings, opportunities 
for oral comment will usually be limited to no more than ten minutes 
per speaker or organization (unless otherwise stated). Speakers should 
bring at least 35 copies of their comments and presentation slides for 
distribution to the reviewers and public at the meeting. Written 
Comments: Although written comments are accepted until the date of the 
meeting (unless otherwise stated), written comments should be received 
in the SAB Staff Office at least five business days prior to the 
meeting date so that the comments may be made available to the 
committee for their consideration. Comments should be supplied to the 
DFO at the address/contact information noted above in the following 
formats: one hard copy with original signature and one electronic copy 
via e-mail (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat, WordPerfect, Word, 
or Rich Text files (in IBM-PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format).

    Dated: June 9, 2004.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 05-11826 Filed 6-14-05; 8:45 am]
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